


The Art of Surviving Shenanigans

by estelraca



Category: Emelan - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Accidental Sex Change, Gen, Rabbits, accidental species change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:08:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27832795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estelraca/pseuds/estelraca
Summary: When Tris is accidentally changed into a male body, Niko sends her to Sandry to calm down before someone gets electrocuted.  This leads to a remarkably nice day involving a book that may not be good, but more than does what it's setting out to do.
Relationships: Trisana Chandler & Niklaren Goldeye, Trisana Chandler & Sandrilene fa Toren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	The Art of Surviving Shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

  * For [specialrhino](https://archiveofourown.org/users/specialrhino/gifts).



> Hi there! I hope that you enjoy this. I loved your prompts, and tried to incorporate a few into the piece.

_The Art of Surviving Shenanigans_

“Sandry, can I stay here until Niko lets me back into the university?”

Sandry pauses, trying to sort out what bothers her about the voice she's hearing. The cadence and word choice and general note of mulish irritation is pure Tris, but the tone is deeper than she expected. She turns to the doorway. “Of course you can— _Tris_!”

The person in the doorway is undoubtedly Tris. The same frizzy hair, the same scowl, the same glasses, the same plump figure. Except... not _quite_ the same plump figure. The face is subtly different, and there is a change in the curve of the throat, and Tris' chest is decidedly slimmer than before.

Tris sighs. “Yes, yes, I've been turned into a boy. Man. Whatever. No, I'm not worked up about it. Not about the man thing, at least. I did kind of electrocute the people in my class who arranged for me to drink the potion that caused this, but I feel like they had it coming. Niko agrees with me but said electrocuting your students, even when they deserve it, is likely to result in a reprimand, and he'd really prefer I just get out of the school for a little bit while he works on sorting things out.”

Sandry blinks, processing all of that. “Well... you've certainly had a day.”

“I've had a week, and a month, and a _year_.” Tris throws herself down in a chair, scowl deepening, familiar static sparks starting to dance across her hair again. “If I had known it was going to be this bad trying to teach people who are older than me I never would have volunteered.”

“Which would mean the students who are behaving would have missed out on a great teacher.” Sandry pulls a chair up next to Tris, sitting forward so that she can reach out and take Tris' hand. “I'm sorry that a handful of students have been so terrible to you, though. Do you know what this was about?”

“They said something along the lines of 'the girl who wants to act like a man gets to look like one'.” Tris waves a hand dismissively. “As though I'm trying to act like anything other than just a _person_ , just someone with more talent and smarts than they have.”

Sandry has to suppress a smile. “I imagine if you put it in those words, that might have been why they were getting...”

“Pissy?” Tris grins, sparks fading as she supplies the word and returns the pressure of Sandry's fingers. “Stupid? Irritating? Annoying? Treasonous?” Tris considers, then sighs. “I guess it's not treasonous.”

“I mean... it's certainly crossing several lines. Forcing magic on someone without their consent is a serious offense, especially something meant to change their body.” Sandry's own temper, always slower to rise than Tris', is beginning to flare. “How dare they. How dare those smarmy, rich, pathetic little men risk hurting you because their little egos can't take being taught by a girl.”

“Apparently it was only supposed to last five minutes or so. It's already been thirty.” Tris looks down at her familiar, subtly changed hands. “So I guess they're as terrible at their potion work as they are at my classes.”

“Does this mean...” Sandry hesitates, not wanting to make Tris more upset about this than she is right now.

Tris shrugs. “I don't know. I don't even really care. Which I know, a lot of people would, but maybe if I were a man they'd give me less hassle.” Tris' glower returns. “Though, you know what, no. Even if I am stuck like this, I'm going to wear a dress and make them understand exactly who it is they're being taught by.”

“I don't think you're going to be stuck.” Sandry hastens to be reassuring. “If it was only supposed to be temporary, and they know what they did, I'm sure Niko will be able to find a way to fix matters. There's no potion he can't tease the secrets out of.”

Tris smiles, the sparks fading again at the thought of her teacher. “I'm sure he'll try. He seemed even more upset than I was, though in a different sort of way.”

“There's very few people who get upset the same way you do, Tris.” Sandry smiles fondly at her friend.

“That's just because there aren't many people who can call down lightning when they get mad, or summon a storm.” Tris' smile turns more melancholic. “I was actually going to teach this class about riding storms, you know. But given this...”

“You can't blame the whole class for one small group of idiots.” Sandry squeezes Tris' hand. “Come on, though. While Niko works, I think you've earned a day of relaxation. A hot bath, a good massage—I haven't had a chance to show you the new spell I've been working on! Spells, really. In the first one I've taught some towels to give the most delightful full-body massage, and in the other I taught some light cloths to return themselves to hot water when they reach a certain temperature. I've also been working on some spells to teach clothes to put themselves on bodies—it would help people who have trouble with mobility—but I suspect you'd be more irritated than entertained by that.”

“Yeah, I don't think I need my clothes to have a mind of their own.” Tris allows herself to be pulled from the chair. “Though... are you sure about the bath and stuff? I mean... I've been very thoroughly changed into a male form. If you understand.” Tris hesitates a moment and then blurts out, “I have a penis now.”

Sandry can't help laughing. “Yours won't be the first one I see, but if you'd rather I look away I can do that, too.”

Tris shrugs. “I don't care so much. A body is a body. I just... thought maybe it would bother you.”

“It's you, Tris. We're family, no matter what happens.” Sandry leads Tris to the bathing room, where a series of innovative pipes and carefully applied spells allow hot water to be delivered directly into four different bathing tubs. She's wondered, sometimes, if it would have been four before she met Tris and Daja and Briar. Did her uncle do this just for her?

She hasn't had the courage to ask him, instead just relishing the idea that this _was_ designed for her special family.

Tris strips and sinks down into the warm, lightly scented liquid with a pleased sigh. Her frizzy hair sags down to lay against her cheekbones, only her nose and mouth above the water for a few seconds. “This is glorious.”

“Isn't it?” Sandry settles into her own tub. “I could stay here for hours.”

“I couldn't. Not without a book.” Tris' head rises enough for Sandry to see her eyes over the edge of her tub. There's a greedy glint there that Sandry recognizes all too well.

Sandry laughs. “You and your books. You can't read in the tub, you know. Your hands will get the books all wet.”

“You _can_ read in the tub, you just have to be careful not to get the book wet. Believe me, I have practice at doing it.” Tris reaches up to where her glasses usually sit. “Though it gets hard with glasses. They steam up.”

“Well... the library's a bit far for me to call a book from. But I do have one next door, that I was reading while I worked on some sewing...” Sandry can feel her face heating from more than just the water. “I could have my dress go get it, though... it might not be to your liking.”

“Is it fiction?” Tris sits up, rather like Little Bear being offered a treat.

“It... is.” Sandry considers the barrage of questions that will likely follow and elects to just get it out in the open. “It's a romance. A very... indulgent romance.”

Tris blinks, head tilting slightly. “Huh. But you like it?”

“I've been thoroughly enjoying it.” She'd accidentally embroidered some of her favorite lines into a tablecloth she was trying to make stain-resistant, and had to undo a bit of work in order to erase the evidence of her obsession.

“I'll try some. You usually have good taste.”

“Oh, please don't accuse me of good taste with this.” Sandry slides down into the tub, her eyes rising to the ceiling. She reaches out with her power, urging her dress to take on the familiar shape of her body and head to the familiar location of her workroom and fetch the book. It would have been exhausting when she was younger, when she was first learning to use her power, but now... now it comes to her easily. “Just accuse me of having fun.”

Tris' snort of laughter is delightfully familiar.

The book arrives shortly, and Sandry has her dress hold it just off to the side of her tub. She begins reading at the beginning, settling in easily to the familiar rhythms of the story. The novel is historical, featuring a young woman who has been denied any training with her magic, who has been told if she suppresses it that it will go away. Of course it doesn't, and as she gets older and stronger she starts having more and more issues—issues that her childhood friend, the village woodcutter, helps her with, even as the lord of the kingdom searches desperately for the mage who is foretold to save his empire.

She's read four chapters before the water cools enough that a shiver breaks her concentration, and she glances over at Tris' tub, hoping her friend isn't terribly bored or disappointed.

Tris has both hands on the side of the tub, her head hanging out. “Why did you stop?” Tris demands.

“Because we're both going to freeze and turn into raisins if I keep going.” Sandry suppresses a smile, suspecting that showing too much enthusiasm will make Tris self-conscious. “Let's get out. I'll get dressed and keep reading; you'll get a nice massage while I do.”

Tris considers, then sighs and begins leveraging herself out of the tub.

Sandry hastily looks away, focusing on getting herself out of her own tub without getting the book wet. She uses her magic to coax a robe over to Tris, and then leads Tris out of the baths and towards Sandry's room.

She settles Tris down on her bed, and takes a few steps back, preparing herself for the working. “I've never practiced on anyone else, so... tell me if this feels absolutely awful.”

“I'll let you know if it's awful or mediocre or wonderful, though I suspect it's going to be something like the latter. But right now, I want you to read.” Tris stares pointedly at the book.

Sandry smiles, settling down in a chair and opening the book. It's going to be an added challenge, reading _and_ controlling the spell, but she likes a challenge.

They've only managed another two chapters when Niko knocks on the bedroom door.

Tris groans. “Noooo. I don't want this to stop. Niko, go away and come back in a few hours.”

Niko smiles, both eyebrows arching up as he looks between Sandry and Tris. “I don't know what you've done, Sandry, but you'll have to let the rest of us know so that we can repeat it.”

“A little bit of warm massage and a lot a bit of—” Sandry falters, trying to decide how to summarize the book without either lying about the quality or insulting herself and Tris.

“A wonderful book.” Tris' voice is firm, and she sits up, the cloths that had been doing the massage falling away from her and starting to fold themselves.

“My apologies for interrupting.” Niko squints his eyes at the spine of the book, and then smiles knowingly. “This should be quick, though. I think I've got a reversal agent for the potion that started all this.”

“Give.” Tris holds out a hand, fingers grabbing for the vial in Niko's. “The sooner we get this finished, the sooner we can get back to important things.”

“Do those important things include figuring out what we're going to do about your class?” Niko crosses his arms in front of his chest, studying Tris.

Tris shrugs. “I'm going to keep teaching the ones who actually want to learn. The ones who did this—”

“The ones who did this are done. This was a gross breach of trust, a use of magic that will not be tolerated by the university. I've made sure of it.” Niko's entire bearing hardens, and Sandry almost feels bad for the idiots.

Almost, but not quite. They're lucky that the only thing that happened was they made Tris male for longer than intended. Getting a potion wrong can lead to much more severe side effects, and it's definitely not all right to use it on someone without their consent.

“Then I think the problem's solved.” Tris turns the vial of the counter-potion in her hands. “Unless I'm in trouble for the lightning storm?”

“Given the circumstances and the repeated gendered abuse you've suffered, I argued that there shouldn't be any punishment for you. I succeeded.” Niko's voice softens, his fingers tightening on the fabric of his shirt sleeves.

“Then the problem is absolutely solved. Or it will be, in a moment.” Tris salutes them both with the potion and then downs it in one gulp.

There's a moment where nothing happens. Then Tris' nose starts to twitch. She lifts a hand to rub it.

Magic sparks run up and down her arm, across her body, and with a flash of golden light Tris is replaced by a fluffy white rabbit.

Niko and Sandry spend a moment just staring, too shocked to do anything.

Then Sandry gives a little unwitting shriek, her hands rising to cover her mouth. “Tris!”

Niko looks absolutely devastated, his expression shattering as he stares at the bunny. “No—no. This shouldn't—I didn't—”

The bunny leaps up into the air, coming down with a plop. Tiny electric sparks dance along her ears.

“Tris...” Sandry approaches the bed. “Ah... jump once if you can still understand us.”

The rabbit hops once.

“Oh, that's good.” Sandry reaches out gently to lift the rabbit into her arms. “Um... does anything hurt?”

The bunny twitches her nose, and Sandry winces, settling the bunny back on the bed. “Sorry, that was silly of me. Does anything hurt?”

The bunny's ears flatten to her head.

“Uh... one jump for yes, two for no.”

The rabbit jumps twice.

“Do you mind if I pick you up?”

Two more jumps.

Sandry reaches out again, gathering the bunny into her arms. “You're so very soft!” Turning to Niko, she sidles closer. “It's all right. She's fine. Just... fuzzier.”

Niko lifts his hands, burying both in his hair and slowly pulling until it looks painful. “There must have been something else in the potion. This shouldn't have happened. I'm so sorry. I—”

Tris-rabbit kicks in Sandry's arms, baring her teeth.

Sandry clears her throat. “Tris seems to disagree with your panicked responses. I think she wants you to calm down.” Tris nibbles on Sandry's sleeve. “Or she's going to bite you.”

Niko studies Tris for another moment and then shakes his head, giving voice to a shaky laugh. “Do you have her for a little bit longer?”

Sandry nods.

“I'll be back shortly. With, hopefully, a better cure.” Niko disappears as quickly as he had appeared.

Sandry settles down on the bed, the bunny hugged tight to her.

It doesn't last for long. Tris starts squiggling almost immediately, hopping away from Sandry and to the edge of the bed. She studies the drop, turning her head first this way and then that.

Sandry hastily moves to settle Tris on the floor, not wanting her to jump and hurt herself.

Tris hops towards the chair Sandry had been occupying, stretching up an impressively long length on her back legs. She paws at the book.

Sandry laughs. “You want me to keep reading?”

Tris turns to her, and Sandry is impressed by how similar a rabbit's glare can look to Tris' usual one.

Scooping Tris back up, Sandry gathers the book as well and moves everything back to the bed. She settles down with the book and the bunny, intent on enjoying this break—strange as it is—as much as she possibly can.

***

When Niko returns, it's already dark. He actually wakes Sandry, a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Sandry blinks muzzily up at him.

His focus has already moved on, to the little rabbit that is busy trying to peer at the book with one eye. “I have another attempt, if you're willing to try it.”

Tris hops over to Niko without any hesitation.

Niko holds another vial, and looks between the vial and Tris-rabbit with increasing perturbation.

Sandry clears her throat. “Let me get a bowl.”

The potion sits, silvery and somehow warm-looking, in the bottom of the bowl. Niko holds it carefully as Tris rises up to lap the liquid.

It doesn't take long for the magic to take effect. Tris has just finished lapping up the fluid and settled back on the bed when her ears twitch, her nose frantically flashes pink, and she stretches out into her proper human form.

Tris wiggles her fingers, arches her back, and wiggles her toes. “Oh, this is _much_ better. Back to my usual self.”

Niko turns bright red, spinning around. “Sandry, could you—”

A gesture of Sandry's fingers sends a robe to puddle in Tris' lap.

“Thanks.” Tris shrugs into the robe, snuggling her face down into the soft fabric. “This has actually been a really relaxing day, you know?”

Niko turns hesitantly back around. “I'm glad it's overall been enjoyable for you. Perhaps some of the less... egregious events should be repeated.”

Sandry smiles at Tris. “I wouldn't mind having a day every now and again where the two of us just... relax together.”

“Me, either.” Tris yawns. “But right now I'm warm and it's late and I still need to know how this book ends. You want to stay and hear it, Niko?”

“Since I've missed the first ninety percent, I think I'll pass for now. But if you think I'd enjoy it, perhaps I'll borrow it.”

Sandry tries and fails to suppress a blush.

With a few more murmured goodbyes Niko steps out, leaving Tris and Sandry on her bed.

Tris gestures to the book. “Shall we?”

Sandry curls up next to Tris. “Yes, I think we shall.”

The book has a happy ending, of course. That's part of the appeal, after all—knowing that everything will turn out all right for everyone.

Curled next to her sister, the two of them grown into their power and their place in the world even if the world isn't always ready for them, Sandry agrees with Niko. They need to have more days like this. Perhaps, in the future, they can include the others.

It's a nice thought, and it keeps Sandry conscious long enough to finish the story, though not long enough to get properly prepared for bed. She doesn't need to, though; Tris turns out the lights and puts the book back on the shelf before draping a blanket over the both of them and curling back down in bed.

“Thank you.” Tris whispers the words in Sandry's ear. “For understanding.”

“No need for thanks.” Sandry smiles, grasping Tris' hand. “I'm just glad to help.”

It's what family does, after all. And no matter what else happens, the four of them will always be family.

Sandry won't allow it to be any other way.


End file.
